Quiet Leaders

July 29, 2018

When we list who we consider to be the great leaders and pillars of the Christian church, there are certain names that come to mind—Simon Peter, Paul of Tarsus, John the Baptist, Mary Magdalene, John Calvin, Martin Luther & John Wesley; from more modern times we might also add Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Theresa, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, CS Lewis, and Pope John Paul 2nd. These leaders, these men and women who stood not so quietly out of the crowd had a powerful impact on the faith of thousands, if not millions of people.

There are, however, other great leaders of the Christian church who labored far more quietly, often in relative obscurity.  These leaders did as much for the church in their quiet, unassuming ways, as did those who labored more out loud.  Today we talk about one of these great leaders:  Andrew.

So we should thank and praise God for people like Andrew in our life, and in our world. They’re quiet; always laboring faithfully, but quietly. They may not receive much recognition, but then again, they don’t seek it. But you know what recognition they will hear? They’ll hear the same thing that I’m sure Andrew heard when his race was done—”Well done, good and faithful servant. Well done.”

Gospel Lesson:

John 6:1-21, Common English Bible
After this Jesus went across the Galilee Sea (that is, the Tiberias Sea). A large crowd followed him, because they had seen the miraculous signs he had done among the sick. Jesus went up a mountain and sat there with his disciples. It was nearly time for Passover, the Jewish festival.

Jesus looked up and saw the large crowd coming toward him. He asked Philip, “Where will we buy food to feed these people?”  Jesus said this to test him, for he already knew what he was going to do. Philip replied, “More than a half year’s salary worth of food wouldn’t be enough for each person to have even a little bit.”

One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said, “A youth here has five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that for a crowd like this?”

Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass there. They sat down, about five thousand of them. Then Jesus took the bread. When he had given thanks, he distributed it to those who were sitting there. He did the same with the fish, each getting as much as they wanted. When they had plenty to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather up the leftover pieces, so that nothing will be wasted.” So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves that had been left over by those who had eaten.

When the people saw that he had done a miraculous sign, they said, “This is truly the prophet who is coming into the world.” Jesus understood that they were about to come and force him to be their king, so he took refuge again, alone on a mountain.

When evening came, Jesus’ disciples went down to the lake. They got into a boat and were crossing the lake to Capernaum. It was already getting dark and Jesus hadn’t come to them yet. The water was getting rough because a strong wind was blowing. When the wind had driven them out for about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the water. He was approaching the boat and they were afraid. He said to them, “I Am.  Don’t be afraid.” Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and just then the boat reached the land where they had been heading.